Suurok class
The Suurok-class was a type of Vulcan starship designated by the High Command as a science vessel as early as 2136, and additionally used as a combat cruiser into the mid-22nd century. ( ) Technical data Design The design of the Suurok-class possessed a long, cylindrical primary hull and ring-shaped warp nacelles. Primary systems During the 2150s, this design was among the fastest and most powerful starships operating in the Vulcan fleet. The Suurok possessed a top speed of Warp 6.5 in the science vessel variant. The combat vessel variant could go to Warp 7. ( ) The technology behind its ring-design nacelles was considered "classified" from Earth Starfleet in 2151. ( ) The Suurok was armed with standard particle beam weapons. In combat, these vessels were capable of disabling, if not destroying, a force of three Mazarite ships in a confrontation. ( ) The Suurok-class also possessed tractor beam technology which was also considered "classified" from Earth's Starfleet. The tractor beam emitter was located on the lower section of the primary hull, in front of the warp drive. ( ) Ships commissioned ;Named *''Ni'Var'' *''Sh'Raan'' *''Ti'Mur'' ;Unnamed * [[Suurok unnamed 000|Unnamed Suurok-class starships]] Appendices Appearances * ** ** ** ** (database display) ** (database display) ** Background information Name It is commonly believed that the name of this class is . This name was used, for instance, by John Eaves. It also appeared in an article on the design of the ship written by Doug Drexler in , which was reprinted in Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection issue 34, and in a different article focusing on the starship written in . Conversely, Scott Bakula – in the role of Jonathan Archer – clearly pronounced the name as "Suurok" class in , which also corresponded with the spelling that appeared in the episode's closed-captioning. This spelling was later confirmed as the spelling in the final draft of the script, whose pronunciation guide phonetically notated the name as, "sir-OCK". The script's writer, Mike Sussman, noted the former spelling may have appeared in an early draft of the script. The class wasn't named at all in the writers' second draft of the teleplay. Original design In the writers' second draft script of "Breaking the Ice", this type of ship was characterized as "the almost eerie, swooping, tripod form of a Vulcan ship." In the final draft of the script, it was described as "a tripod-shaped Vulcan ship." Because regular ship designer John Eaves was busy working on , the job of designing the Suurok-class fell to Doug Drexler. The vessel was the first Vulcan starship design to appear on the series of Enterprise, and the first significant Vulcan starship design to appear in the Star Trek series. Given that there were few references that existed even though the Vulcans are one of the primary species that define Star Trek, Drexler felt daunted by the request to design a craft for the species. In designing the Suurok-class, he believed that – since it would likely make many appearances on ENT – the ship should be as memorable as possible. ( ) File:USS Enterprise (XCV 330), TMP.jpg|Basis for overall shape File:Vulcan transports.jpg|Ring-shaped nacelle File:TPlana hath in crowd.jpg|Red-hued coloring The goal of Doug Drexler's design for the Vulcan ship was simplicity, so that it would pass the "squint test," making the vessel recognizable even if the ship was tiny on the screen. Consequently, he borrowed influence from what he thought were the most memorable ship designs in Star Trek, those made by Matt Jefferies. One that caught his eye was the , as it was rather different from all other designs in Star Trek to that date. ( ) He also remembered that the Vulcan ship from (the ) had a ring shape. So, he based his idea on this. " Ah,' I thought, as I mulled over the Vulcan ship design question for ''Enterprise. 'This is the perfect place to fit the hoop ship, " he remembered. ( ) Doug Drexler modified the basic ringed shape to make the craft look more Vulcan. He did so by giving the vessel curves and peaks which were inspired by the Vulcan temple and clothing from and the '' from . ( ) Drexler further adapted the reddish colors and the trio of engine pods of the T'Plana-Hath, in an attempt to create as much of a design lineage as possible, using what little reference there actually was. ( ) The first design for the Suurok-class which Doug Drexler demonstrated, as a concept model, to Production Designer Herman Zimmerman and Executive Producers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga appeared much as the ship ended up looking. However, Matt Jefferies' engine support spar had become a lot larger and was clearly inhabited. ( ) Despite loving the hoop design, Drexler was expected to present some alternatives to Zimmerman, Berman, and Braga. He therefore devised two other designs to give them, one of which resembled the T'Plana-Hath much more than the final version. ( ) The other potential candidate had conical engine pods and a spherical primary hull, similar to the , another design that was based on an early Jefferies design (the ). ( ) "Needless to say, I was delighted that Rick and Brannon went for the exotic hoop and arrow," enthused Drexler. ( ) Refining the shape of the hoop ship constituted the next step in the design process. Doug Drexler firstly came up with some variations which showed it with slightly different body shapes and engine pods. A version he experimented with included engines matching those of the T'Plana-Hath as well as another of the early concepts for the Suurok-class. One of the final decisions was to flip the craft upside down. "I just realized that it looked better defying gravity," Drexler related, "rather than hanging from the hoop and Herman, Rick, and Brannon heartily agreed." Afterwards, the engine pods were eliminated as was any physical connection between the main body of the vessel and the surrounding ring section, disconnecting the two separate elements. "We liked the defiance of conventional structural support," Drexler stated. "It makes the Vulcans look like they control powers beyond Human ken." In this way, Drexler believes the Suurok-class was made to be like the , with the structure of both seemingly defying Human understanding. ( ) Finally, the design for the Suurok-class was approved. Doug Drexler himself was also happy with it. "I feel that the ''Surak-class ship will enjoy a longevity if only for that certain Jefferies 'je ne sais quoi, " he remarked. ( ) John Eaves regarded the ship as highly influential and a "beautiful design." Following its approval, the design was moved to Eden FX, who added it into "Breaking the Ice". ( ) Although a ''Suurok-class ship appears in , the final draft script of that installment gave no indication of which configuration of Vulcan starship was to be used in the episode, merely that it was to be a "Vulcan ship." A reference to the craft's abilities that was scripted but not included in the installment's final edit had Enterprise armory officer Malcolm Reed comment to the vessel's captain, "Your ship can fabricate as many phase-pistols as you want." Revised design Following the initial appearance of the Suurok-class in "Breaking the Ice", the Suurok was redesigned for its later appearances in "Fallen Hero" and "United". According to Robert Bonchune, "the design fell out of favor for a while," but was eventually revised by model builder Pierre Drolet, to include "better detail and texturing as well as modified dimensions." Bonchune further added that the reason for this was because "the original model was just not up to snuff for what we needed. So it was superseded. They are theoretically the same ship, not two different classes or types." Doug Drexler on the issue: "It was my first pass concept model. Like all the concept models, it's low to medium resolution. Usually I only take 2 days to build something like that, because Herman Zimmerman needs it pronto for approval. A high rez version was built later by Pierre Drolet so that they could get close to it." This version was seen as the Sh'Raan combat cruiser. Later, Drexler added, "I like to think that they are two different classes." Among the modifications made to the design included a longer primary hull with a flat underside, and a redesigned aft vertical nacelle strut, which changed from a blue glow to a red glow. Apocrypha T'Uerell's ship in the Star Trek: Legacy videogame was a Suurok-class vessel. Throughout the game, the vessel adopts several green and gray accents to depict its gradual assimilation. It is the game's final boss. External links * * de:Surak-Klasse es:Clase Surak nl:Suurok klasse ja:スロク級 Category:Vulcan starship classes